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Beyond Diversity

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What if we could go beyond the conversation about diversity and take real action?

In early 2021, more than two hundred widely respected experts gathered virtually for the world’s most ambitious conversation about diversity. Our aim was to do more than spotlight injustice. We challenged ourselves to imagine how to fix it. The dialogue brought together casting directors, bookstore owners, disabled leaders, healthcare professionals, students, VCs, standup comedians, chief diversity officers, pro gamers, archaeologists, government insiders, startup founders, and even a master puppeteer.

Now for the first time, these solutions are compiled into one groundbreaking volume organized into twelve powerful themes including: storytelling, technology, identity, retail, education and more. Each chapter paints a revealing picture of the world, how it is, how it could be and what needs to happen for us to get there. For newcomers to the topic of diversity, and DEI experts alike, this book offers a much-needed actionable blueprint for creating a more inclusive world for us all.

268 pages, Paperback

Published November 9, 2021

48 people are currently reading
335 people want to read

About the author

Rohit Bhargava

30 books181 followers
Rohit Bhargava is a leading authority on marketing, trends and innovation. He is the founder of the Non-Obvious Company and is widely considered one of the most entertaining and original keynote speakers on marketing disruption and innovation in the world. He is the #1 WSJ and USA TODAY bestselling author of eight books on topics as wide ranging as the future of business, building a human brand with personality, and how to create a more diverse and inclusive world. Rohit is an Adjunct Professor at Georgetown University and writes a monthly column for GQ Brazil. He is married and lives with his wife and two boys in the Washington DC area, loves the Olympics and actively hates cauliflower.

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23 (20%)
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Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
Profile Image for Karen Catlin.
Author 7 books44 followers
November 9, 2021
Chapter by chapter, the authors explore different settings and industries, providing insight into why a lack of diversity is a problem along with actionable steps to take to improve diversity. They've compressed a massive amount of brain power from more than 200 experts into this practical book. A must read for anyone who wants to change the status quo and create a more equitable world.
Profile Image for Kathryn LaMontagne.
51 reviews2 followers
August 25, 2024
Going to say this does not go a whiff past traditional ideas of institutional diversity. This corporate jaunt through the current state of neoliberal identity politics does nothing but talk about inspiring ways to address the symptoms of systemic inequality without ever suggesting we make profound changes to said system.
I don’t think the terms liberation, state violence, white supremacy, or patriarchy are ever mentioned in this book if that gives you any idea of what this book is all about
Profile Image for Karen Cornwell.
Author 1 book4 followers
February 1, 2022
Outstanding – Excellent for Executives or anyone who is thinking – What do I need to know about Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion?

This is one of the most comprehensive overviews of the issues, how the issues are impacting your business, and how to get started on the journey of understanding both for yourself and for your company. Filled with excellent stories that facilitate understanding and drive home why we need to fix this to improve our culture and allow both businesses and employees to flourish.

- Karen F Cornwell, author of You Can’t Fix What You Can’t See: An Eye-Opening Toolkit to Cultivate Gender Harmony in Business.
2 reviews
January 6, 2022
Beyond Diversity provides a healthy case for why moving beyond diversity to inclusion and equity is ultimately the goal we must pursue in our respective spheres of influence--whether that be in the corporate world, nonprofit sector, homefront, our spending and branding efforts, even the everyday language we choose to (or not) to use. I appreciated the holistic approach the authors took in providing digestible, engaging, and actionable principles to employ in conversations with others, as well as questions we should ask ourselves to identity our own biases, assumptions, and what role we play (or allow others near us to play) in holding up or dismantling oppressive systems today.

The book pairs nicely with the nonobviousdiversity.com site in making the conceptual practical, filled with resources for further exploration, conversation guides, and helpful material to share with others and invite them along in this journey of inclusion, critical thinking, and appropriate self-governance.

DEI is far more than an abstract topic--it lives in the lives of real people, and Jennifer and Rohit do an incredible job of infusing real storytelling along with the "what, so what, now what" so that the reader is empowered to take meaningful steps to champion compassionate, others-centered attitudes and behaviors in their everyday lives, for the betterment of all, especially those who are marginalized and most stand to benefit from true allyship. Overall, great read and would recommend to those who are serious about doing "the work"!
Profile Image for Unleash The Knowledge.
143 reviews19 followers
December 30, 2021
A book for all leaders to read in 2022!

What if we could go beyond the conversation about diversity and take real action?

Enter Beyond Diversity: 12 Non-Obvious Ways To Build A More Inclusive World.

In early 2021, more than 200 respected experts came together virtually to answer the above question I proposed.

These experts are tired of just spotlighting injustice without real action.

They challenged themselves to imagine a life of fixing it along with bringing more action to creating diversity in all areas of our world.

The solutions and answers discussed by these experts are now available for you to consume through this new book: Beyond Diversity!

Authors Rohit Bhargava and Jennifer Brown spearheaded this mission and their work has gained the recognition they hoped to achieve.

Beyond Diversity recently hit the Wall Street Journal bestseller list!

This book covers 12 powerful themes including, storytelling, leadership, technology, family, education, and more!

This is truly a book all leaders should read to broaden their perspective on diversity.

It will provide leaders with a practical game plan to keep diversity at the forefront and continue to make big changes in the new year!
1 review1 follower
December 9, 2021
It seems more people than ever are expressing thoughts and opinions related to the field of diversity, equity, and inclusion. Interests have been sparked. Uncomfortable conversations are happening. We may want to do something, but don’t know what to do or how to go about it. Beyond Diversity provides practice advice for people who are ready to turn learnings and conversations into meaningful action.
Profile Image for April Dickinson.
294 reviews2 followers
December 29, 2021
I expected a bit more from this book. Much of it actually felt very obvious to me. Many of the actions suggested were pretty basic: “Welcoming conversations” “diversifying media/sources/teams/etc” “calling out bias and demanding change.” I was hoping for more direction on how to make those demands a reality or tangible changes that makes people’s lives better, like advocating for higher teacher salaries at school board meetings, commenting on city budgets at council meetings, or less focus on productivity and work as the place of value. Maybe those are obvious too? I liked the way the book was structured and this would be a great place for people to start on their DEI journey.
4 reviews
May 27, 2023
As a minority I thoughtI knew so much about how to deal with diversity issues in the workplace. I actually started reading the book thinking that it would NOT teach me anything new. However, there were sections of the book that showed me other issues that contribute/affect diversity. the technology section was especially interesting. The book of course covers the standard diversity hiring issues and how companies need to do more. It also covers how brands in our daily life exclude certain groups and are not as diverse as they seem. A real eye opener.
Profile Image for Carolyn.
23 reviews
January 3, 2022
Beyond Diversity offers us a challenge! Widen your lens- broaden who you are hearing from and listening to! I loved the breakdown of categories for action and to challenge where diversity impacts us, and how. Some new learnings, some repetition for those of us in the DEI space. However the clear call to action, and “conversation starters” on each topic are incredibly helpful. I will be continuing to refer back to this book as I advocate and work to move conversations/ understanding forward!
Profile Image for Alex Urrutia.
22 reviews1 follower
March 15, 2023
A lot of good stuff in here to help build a more diverse, equitable, and inclusive world, but I didn’t feel like it was as actionable as I hoped it would’ve been. Reminded me a lot of RA training where there was too much to cover in too small of a space. If the book took a few of the twelve topics and really went into each instead of 12 relatively short chapters, I feel like it may have benefited more.
Profile Image for Ry.
105 reviews
September 22, 2023
This book was an interesting read, but it was also very... repetitive? a lot of the "what can you do?" and "what has to change?" were just the same idea in different words - and half of the "what can you do?" is just 'be aware! use what you learn! listen and ask questions!'
which is something... most of us already know? idk, I read this for a class and I don't regret reading it but I don't feel like this book really helped me at all
Profile Image for A Bonus.
28 reviews
December 15, 2021
Had the pleasure of getting a pre-release copy. Overall, you look at it and think: practical, "duh-I-should-know-this," but the terms, concepts, examples and actionable items are the real takeaways here. As someone who checks a number of boxes, this hit home. But for those who haven't had the luxury/time/dedication of thinking-outside-their-box(es), it's a good start.
2 reviews1 follower
January 21, 2022
Stop checking the boxes and start taking action! This book shows us how to do that. It also emphasis the little changes we must make. Some of it may seem like it should be obvious but clearly we are not there yet.

All leaders should read this book. The "what you can do" sections are practical and realistic. I have been a genuine fan of Jennifer Brown's work for some time and it continues.
Profile Image for Cymiki.
811 reviews
July 30, 2022
What a great book - not too long and very digestible, too. Chapters cover different topics (e.g. government, education, leadership) with some very practical tips to extend one's comfort zone. Talking or thinking points at the end of each chapter also provide more food for thought. I will be returning to the tips and talking points in the months to come.
Profile Image for Aaron Ambrose.
434 reviews7 followers
September 5, 2022
I’m not sure what the intent of this book is. There’s a lot of name dropping, self-congratulation, a skimming of DEI symptoms, soft-headed wish lists of “What Needs To Happen,” sales pitches for contributors, fussy page design, non sequitur pull-out quotes on every page. It’s a big sundae of well-intentioned idiocy. Not helpful.
1 review
December 11, 2021
Diversity is never easy - but once you set goals - bring in people who can help. This book provides a roadmap for where to start, how to move forward and if you need help what that "real world" help looks like.

Fields Jackson, Jr.
CEO
Racing Toward Diversity magazine
Profile Image for Jess Roueche.
15 reviews1 follower
February 18, 2023
This book has so many great perspectives of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion within America. This book has several authors with a variety of backgrounds but common themes.
Profile Image for Angé.
675 reviews5 followers
May 2, 2024
This was an interesting book but not the most interesting read. I would have loved to be at that mentioned conference.
Profile Image for Mary de la Fe.
11 reviews3 followers
December 30, 2021
This book is incredibly rich in actionable information. It also showed me just how pervasive the problem is. I appreciated how the authors organized the book to really show the intersectionality and how every single aspect of our lives needs work to become more inclusive.

It's an easy read and you come away with helpful, actionable ideas on what you can do individually and where you can become more involved in you industry, community and/or workplace.

If you haven't watched already, I also highly recommend the Non-Obvious Beyond Diversity Summit video on YouTube that the book is based on. There are so many incredible discussions. You can find it on Rohit Bhargava's YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/Rohitbhargava.
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews

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